Foreign exchange trading volumes rise 9% to $ 1.75 trillion in August

Average daily foreign exchange trading volumes rose 9% year-on-year in August, CLS said on Wednesday, as concerns about the health of the global economy sparked an increase in currency trading activity.

CLS, a major settler of trades in the foreign exchange market, said in a statement that August’s volumes increased to $1.75 trillion, higher than last year’s $1.605 trillion. The August 2019 daily average was unchanged from July’s number, however.

Currency markets saw higher volatility in August as investors, fearing a global growth downturn and an escalating trade war between China and the United States, dumped riskier assets for the safety of government bonds, the Japanese yen and Swiss franc .

Forex trading volumes are usually closely linked to volatility levels across currency markets.forex.com